Chapter 5 : 1960s
The 1960s were one of the most tumultuous and divisive decades in world history , marked by the civil rights movement , the Vietnam War and antiwar protests , political assassinations and the emerging " generation gap ."
• The 40th Annual Convention was held in Wichita at the Broadview Hotel on October 9-11 , 1960 . Speakers at the convention included : Hon . Frank Sullivan , Kansas insurance commissioner ; James Adams and William Harris , Merritt-Adams Training Institute , and Dr . Curtis Elliott , professor of insurance , University of Nebraska . The golf tournament was held at McDonald Park .
• In the December 1960 issue of the association ’ s magazine , The Premium , Theodore Roosevelt was quoted saying : “ Every man owes some part of his time to the building up of the profession or industry of which he is a member .”
• In 1961 , The insurance department filed for the first mandatory deductibles on all insurance written in Kansas . In December , mandatory deductibles went into effect by a filing at the Department . Agents were against the filing . All companies were going to comply . The board decided not to alienate the Commissioner due to the upcoming legislative session .
• Standard Oil was selling travel accident insurance to its credit card customers . KAIA Executive Director Frank Dunkel was strongly opposed to it and urged members to cancel their credit cards . According to the Insurance Department , Standard Oil was not in violation of Kansas laws as long as licensed agents handled the policies . Shortly after , Diners Club tried to write this same insurance . They were not allowed to as they were not licensed in the State of Kansas .
• An Agents Qualification Bill went into effect on July 1 , 1963 . It required a written exam to obtain a license . Before that , an agent had 120 days after applying for a license to provide the insurance department with a training certificate .
• Insurance Commissioner Frank Sullivan reported that 18 applicants applied for the insurance license in November 1963 . Not one of them passed the exam . It seemed the Agents Qualification Law was performing the purpose for what it was intended .
• A meeting was attended by association staff to seek information on a new program and product called the Rapid Rater .
The first published Rapid Raters were available in 1966 . It was a notebook with prefigured rates for 90-95 % of rates and premiums used for all types of insurance . The cost is $ 35 per copy . Twenty-three classes across the state were planned to introduce and explain how it worked . As of July 31 , there were 508 orders for it . The Rapid Rater company also had a Coverage Guide available . In 1968 , the association began selling the Coverage Guide for $ 10.00
• Laurin W . Jones of Dodge City , a former State Senator and two-time president of KAIA ( in 1940 and 1941 ) was named “ Kansan of the Year .”
• Larry Magill , Sr . retired . A reception was held in Hutchinson for him . Countless members deemed Larry one of the finest gentlemen the insurance business has ever seen in Kansas . He was with the Kansas Inspection Bureau .
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